How To Use New Tabs in File Explorer in Windows 10

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Yes, tabs have arrived in File Explorer in Windows 10. If one of your Windows 10 computers are Skip Ahead testing the next version of Windows 10, you can have a quick taste of it and see how it works.

Tabs in File Explorer - How To Use New Tabs in File Explorer in Windows 10

First of all, clicking the + icon next to the tab will not open another File Explorer tab. Instead, it opens an Edge browser tab staying there side-by-side with File Explore tab.

Edge tabs with File Explorer tabs - How To Use New Tabs in File Explorer in Windows 10

To open a new tab so you can have two File Explorer tabs grouped together in one Windows, simply press Ctrl + T, the standard keyboard shortcut in all tab-based browsers, or Ctrl + N which opens a new window.

To close the current tab, use Ctrl + W. Again, it’s also a standard keyboard shortcut to close a tab in browsers.

You can also open a new tab from the File Menu. Click File > Open new window > Open new tab.

File Explorer opening a new tab - How To Use New Tabs in File Explorer in Windows 10

Moreover, you can right-click any file folder and choose Open in new tab from the context menu to open the folder in a new tab in File Explorer.

File Explorer tab in context menu - How To Use New Tabs in File Explorer in Windows 10

How about the middle-button on your mouse? Unfortunately, that still doesn’t work. Will have to wait and see if Microsoft adds it in the future builds.

Just like how the tabs work in the browser, you can right-click any of the tabs to bring up the tabs context menu, from which you can close the current tab, close other tabs, close tabs to the right, or move the tab to the new window.

File Explorer tab context menu - How To Use New Tabs in File Explorer in Windows 10

One last tip, there is a new setting in Settings app that controls how Alt+Tab behaves, allowing the tabs to show in Alt+Tab view or not.

Open Settings, go to System > Multitasking and change the setting in Sets section.

Sets setting in Windows 10 - How To Use New Tabs in File Explorer in Windows 10

/update on April 23, 2019/

Unbelievably, one of the anticipated features like this has officially been canceled by Microsoft, according to ZDNet and not expected to return.

9 COMMENTS

  1. Nice, although many years too late. I find I’m pretty happy with xplorer²

    Can I save a configuration of multiple tabs that I can automagically open whenever I want?

    • Yes, indeed.

      I don’t think you can save that configuration like the browser does. It’s still very early in development. I do hope it will later. Opening last set of tabs automatically is pretty useful.

  2. It’s been a year now but this feature is still not launched. Does anyone have a clue when this will finally get released?

  3. I have a feeling that MS nowadays writes few lines of code per month or so, that’s the only explanation of why a feature that can be done in some C++ Builder in a few minutes takes years in MS to develop.
    I think if we’ll set our expectations somewhere in 2020s we won’t be disappointed. Hopefully.

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